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The Harford Township Supervisors met for barely half an hour on July 20th. In that time they agreed, among a few other things, to solicit bids to inaugurate two major projects, one involving paving that had been under consideration for awhile, the other in response to a report from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) that requires emergency repair to a bridge.

One of the projects will pave 75-foot asphalt aprons at the intersection of several township roads with state routes 106 and 547. The same project will see Market Street repaved in Harford Village.

The other involves a deteriorating bridge on Plank Road over a small creek feeding Beaver Meadow Pond. PennDOT's inspection report requires the bridge be repaired within 6 months – before the end of this year, and is considered a "priority" by PennDOT.

Visitors to the township building may have noticed the orange flags in the yard. The township will be getting a new office building now that the proper permits are being finalized. The township budget allowed $200,000 for the new building, but the winning bid came in at about $275,000. So, pursuant to rules promulgated by the township's auditors, the Supervisors adopted a resolution allowing them to boost that by $100,000, taking the money from an equipment subaccount designated for Act 13 "impact fee" funds. (The "impact fee" fund is flush: the treasurer's report showed a current balance of almost $1.18 million.)

The only other item of note that wasn't even on the agenda was what to do with money received from the federal American Rescue Plan. The township has already received very nearly $70,000 from this source, with another equivalent amount expected within the next year. There are some restrictions on how the money can be used, but improvements to infrastructure are allowed, and amelioration of COVID-related costs in the municipality are encouraged, especially for low-income constituents. The Harford Village Apartments, operated by the Susquehanna County Housing and Rehabilitation Authority, certainly qualifies, and they have been paying only half of their assessed fees for domestic water, claiming that they had not budgeted the increased amount required this year by the township. So the Supervisors agreed to allocate $5,700 for that as a one-time assistance measure. They will also accept applications from other users of the village water system, as well as the township sewer system, who might claim difficulty meeting some of their financial obligations.

With the Harford Fair coming up in the third week of August, the Supervisors decided to reschedule their August meeting a week earlier than usual. It is to be on Tuesday, August 10, 2021, beginning at 7:00pm in the township office on Route 547.

New Milford Area Rotary inducted its first Corporate Member on June 17 in a ceremony at Green Gables Restaurant Pavilion, during its monthly meeting. George and Nannette Conner, owners of Tall Pines Farm, Stoves and Fireplaces accepted the corporate membership designation. Corporate membership allows employees of the business member entity to also participate in Rotary service projects and activities, without paying additional membership fees.

On hand to recognize this new Corporate Member and the award of a Paul Harris Society award pin, were District 7410 Governor Joseph Loughman, and District 7410 Rotary Foundation Chair Marcia Loughman. Corporate Membership is open to any business entity including school districts, hospitals, and non-profits.

Contact David Palmer, New Milford Area Rotary Membership Chair at newmilfrodparotary@gmail.com for more information.

On June 19th the Susquehanna Community Development Association (SCDA) welcomed the new owners of Schneider's Market, Ron Cieslak and Brooke Slocum. A Rhododendron plant was presented to Miss Slocum, compliments of J & J Landscaping and Garden Center on behalf of the SDCA.